Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
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[1]research packet au-packet.md (9 sources cited) [museum_official]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lakehurst-apm9-pkt-au-packet-md
-
[2]NHHC DANFS, 'Lakehurst (APV-3)' - canonical text verified via Wayback Machine capture 2025-04-04 (live page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Wayback capture https://web.archive.org/web/20250404133903/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lakehurst.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Lakehurst (APV-3) was built as Seatrain New Jersey in 1940 by Sun Shipbuilding Co., Chester, Pa.; owned by Seatrain Lines, New York City; acquired by Navy under bareboat charter 13 October 1942 and commissioned as Lakehurst at New York the same day, Comdr. H. J. McNulty in command. She departed for Hampton Roads 19 October 1942 and sailed 23 October with Task Force 34, arriving off Safi, Morocco, 8 November; after unloading gasoline, ammunition, and military equipment she departed 13 November, reaching Hampton Roads 24 November. She sailed to New York 2 December to embark troops and load cargo; reclassified APM-1 on 3 December; sailed 12 December in convoy for North Africa; redesignated APM-9 on 17 December; reached Casablanca 24 December and discharged men and equipment. She returned to New York 12 January 1943; made two more runs to Oran and Casablanca 8 February-28 April; a Norfolk-Oran supply voyage 10-23 May; Gibraltar 30 May to 6 July; reached Norfolk 24 July and decommissioned 2 August, transferred to the WSA, and turned over to the Army the same day. One battle star for WWII service. DANFS spec line: dp. 7,450; l. 483'; b. 63'6"; dr. 27'2"; s. 16 k.; cpl. 216; a. 1 5", 4 3", 8 20mm. Namesake: borough in eastern New Jersey, site of U.S. Naval Air Station established 1919.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940-1943
- Limitations
- DANFS is a secondary official synthesis, not a primary record; it contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information and supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page 404 (standing link rot) - text carried via Wayback capture of the official page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lakehurst-apm9-01
-
[3]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), USS Lakehurst (APM-9) class record - compiled from official records (Auxiliary Vessels Board, CominCh correspondence, Navy ship register data) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class: LAKEHURST (APM-9) construction/disposition tables, class notes, ship notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Construction/acquisition mechanics from official records: Seatrain New Jersey (Sun hull 192) keel laid 17 August 1939, launched 26 March 1940, completed July 1940. In October 1942 the ship was undergoing War Department conversion by Atlantic Basin Iron Works, Brooklyn, N.Y., to carry about 200 tanks when Army and Navy jointly decided her North Africa employment required a naval crew; CominCh letter 2 October 1942; Auxiliary Vessels Board recommended acquisition 3 October; WSA assigned the ship to the Navy on condition she revert to Army bareboat charter after the naval mission. Name USS Lakehurst selected 8 October; commissioned 13 October as APV-3. Reclassified APM-1 on 3 December 1942; renumbered APM-9 on 17 December because APM 1-8 had been assigned in late 1941 to ships reclassified LSD 1-8 in June 1942. CNO letters of 29 July 1943 to the ship and WSA noted the Navy-manned special operations had terminated and the War Department had requested her return; after Norfolk Navy Yard repairs completed 1 August she was returned 2 August 1943 as USAT Lakehurst, retaining Navy armament with a naval armed guard. Struck from the Naval Register 12 August 1943. Returned to owner by the Maritime Commission 29 May 1946; merchant Seatrain New Jersey 1946; scrapped 1973.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1939-1973
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of official Navy records - authoritative for dates and administrative mechanics but not itself a primary document. Contains no asbestos or materials information. Shipscribe's Vietnam-era 'shot up' characterization is expressly attributed by the compiler to 'Internet accounts' - not carried as fact here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lakehurst-apm9-02
-
[4]Chester Wardlow, 'Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West' (U.S. Army in World War II, Center of Military History), ch. IV 'Completing the Preparations' - 'Departure of the Western Task Force' [other_primary]
- Locator
- USA-MTO-NWA ch. IV, p. ~66-67 (HyperWar transcription)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official Army history of Operation Torch records that the seatrain New Jersey took on the 39th Combat Team at the New York Port of Embarkation - the sole combat-loaded ship from the United States that did not depart from the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation ('Except for the seatrain New Jersey, which took on the 39th Combat Team at the New York Port of Embarkation, all combat-loaded ships from the United States departed from the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-10
- Population
- 39th Combat Team troops embarked aboard (Army)
- Limitations
- Names the vessel by its merchant name during the Navy-commission window; documents operational loading detail only - no asbestos, materials, or condition information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lakehurst-apm9-03
-
[5]NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive, USAT Lakehurst / USS Lakehurst (APM-9) page (content via Wayback capture 2025-04-11; live site refused automated fetch) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/74/7403 page text + photo caption data
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource archive compiles the ship's service chain and imagery from official sources: WSA acquisition from Seatrain Lines 8 June 1942 at New Orleans; commissioned APV-3 13 October 1942; APM-1 on 3 December 1942; APM-9 on 17 December 1942; Europe-Africa-Middle East campaign credit 'North African occupation - Algeria-Morocco landings, 8 to 11 November 1942'; decommissioned 2 August 1943 and turned over to WSA for transfer to the Army Transportation Service; redelivered to Seatrain Lines 29 May 1946 at Chester, Pa.; sold 30 May 1973 to Industrial Y Comercial De LaVante, S.A., for scrapping in Spain; one battle star; American Campaign Medal / EAME Campaign Medal / WWII Victory Medal. Photo captions cite U.S. National Archives RG-19-LCM Bureau of Ships photos 19-N-35527/-35529/-35530 (ship off New York Navy Yard 10 October 1942 with Army-installed tank-handling booms; USAT Lakehurst at anchor 6 August 1943).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940-1973
- Limitations
- Volunteer-run secondary archive compiling official records - spec block conflicts with DANFS/Shipscribe (complement 17 officers + 238 enlisted vs 216/265; displacement 4,000 t lt / 16,480 t fl vs 7,450 light; armament adds two twin 40mm; turbine listed as De Laval vs Shipscribe G.E.) and internally prints the strike both 'the same day' (2 Aug) and 'date unknown'; decommissioning location given as Newport News vs Norfolk in DANFS/Shipscribe. All conflicts logged in gaps. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lakehurst-apm9-04
-
[6]U.S. Comptroller General, Decision B-32493, 23 Comp. Gen. 239 (28 September 1943) - charter hire for requisitioned unique vessels under sec. 902 Merchant Marine Act 1936; return of title to Seatrain Lines, Inc., of the five Seatrain vessels under Public Law 17 (effective 24 March 1943) [gao]
- Locator
- 23 Comp. Gen. 239; GAO product record B-32493
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- GAO decision documents the federal custody mechanism for this hull: the five Seatrain vessels (including Seatrain New Jersey, this hull) were requisitioned with title in the War Shipping Administration; Comptroller General treated them as unique vessels with no market for setting charter rates, and title was returned to Seatrain Lines under Public Law 17 effective 24 March 1943 while government use continued - the legal framework under which the ship served as USS Lakehurst and USAT Lakehurst.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942-1943 (decision context)
- Limitations
- Fleet-level legal/administrative record covering all five Seatrain vessels; does not single out this hull, and contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information. gao.gov product page confirmed in search index but returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches - full text not retrieved; digest language verified via search listing.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lakehurst-apm9-05
-
[7]U.S. Maritime Administration, National Register Eligibility Assessment - Vessel: SS Ohio, ex-Seatrain Ohio (BARBARA Voulgaris, MARAD), fleet history section [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- NRHP eligibility assessment PDF, vessel history narrative (pp. 2-3 of the document text)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MARAD official history documents the Seatrain fleet design this hull belonged to: railcar carriers whose holds accommodated strings of railway cars on tracks across multiple decks, loaded through upper-deck openings by shore cranes; 'In 1940, two more vessels were added to the Seatrain line; the Seatrain New Jersey and the Seatrain Texas. These vessels operated between New York, Havana, and Texas City, Texas' - confirming this hull's specialized merchant design and route (the five-cargo-deck count is Shipscribe's figure for the 1940 pair).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940 design era
- Limitations
- Fleet/design context from an official assessment of a different vessel (Seatrain Ohio, a 1967 T2-tanker rebuild); documents the type's configuration and service pattern, not this hull's materials or condition. No asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lakehurst-apm9-06
-
[8]Consolidated era/design inference - Corn & Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' AJIM 11(3):359-373 (1987); NavSource machinery spec block for this hull (three Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers 420 psi/680F, geared turbine, single screw); Atlas shipyards.json record sun-shipbuilding-chester (tier 3, Lilley product IDs) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373; NavSource spec block on the APM-9 archive page; shipyards.json yard_id sun-shipbuilding-chester
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- This hull was built 1939-40 at Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Chester, Pa., with a steam-turbine plant (three B&W header-type boilers per the NavSource spec block) - construction era and machinery type for which peer-reviewed historical literature documents extensive asbestos use as standard shipbuilding insulation (boiler and machinery insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, accommodation insulation, brake linings). The builder yard carries tier-3 asbestos-product litigation evidence in the Atlas dataset (Lilley v. Johns-Manville Corp., 408 Pa. Super. 83, 596 A.2d 203 (1991)).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1939-1973 era documented; literature 1987-1991
- Population
- Construction trades (Sun Shipbuilding, Chester, 1939-40); Navy crew and embarked troops (1942-43); Army Transportation Service crews (1943-46); merchant crews (1946-73)
- Limitations
- Era/design and yard-level inference only - no hull-specific record: no bill of material, insulation spec, survey, or abatement record for this vessel was located. The Lilley product-identification testimony covers 1959-1976, postdating this hull's 1939-40 construction - cited for yard context, not hull attribution. Does not establish presence, quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lakehurst-apm9-07
-
[9]Atlas shipyards.json records: sun-shipbuilding-chester (tier 3 - Lilley v. Johns-Manville Corp., 408 Pa. Super. 83, 596 A.2d 203 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1991) product-identification testimony: Unibestos, Caltemp/Pabco, Kaylo, Garlock asbestos gaskets, Raybestos, Careytemp); norfolk-naval-shipyard (tier 2); Atlantic Basin Iron Works, Brooklyn - not an Atlas dataset entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json yard_id sun-shipbuilding-chester, norfolk-naval-shipyard; Lilley 408 Pa. Super. 83
- Finding type
- litigation_product_id
- Finding
- Yard-level context for facilities tied to this hull: builder Sun Shipbuilding, Chester is a tier-3 yard in the Atlas dataset with adjudicated asbestos product identifications (testimony period 1959-1976). The October 1942 tank-carrying conversion by Atlantic Basin Iron Works, Brooklyn, and the August 1943 Norfolk Navy Yard availability are documented yard events for this hull of the kind that disturb installed insulation - no work package or asbestos-specific language for this hull was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1939-1943 (yard events); litigation 1991
- Population
- Sun Shipbuilding trades 1939-40 (build); Atlantic Basin Iron Works trades Oct 1942 (conversion); Norfolk Navy Yard trades Jul-Aug 1943 (availability)
- Limitations
- Yard-level records only - they document asbestos conditions/litigation at facilities where this hull was built, converted, or repaired, not aboard this hull. Lilley testimony period (1959-76) postdates this hull's construction. No element of this row is evidence of asbestos aboard APV-3/APM-9. Atlantic Basin Iron Works is absent from the Atlas shipyards dataset - logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lakehurst-apm9-08
-
[10]In re: Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), MDL No. 875 (J.P.M.L., Robreno, J.) - RECAP document 4825, 'Supplemental Information (CTO-258)' filed 2006-05-24 by plaintiffs in Alix and Lewis A. Seymour (W.D. Wash. civ. nos. 2:05-2144, 2:05-2145), w/ Declaration of Glenn S. Draper [court_record]
- Locator
- MDL-875 master docket (docket_id 1245688), doc 4825, p.19 of 53-page scanned PDF (gov.uscourts.jpml.375294.4825.0.pdf) - located via CourtListener docket search, text confirmed by local OCR
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Pleading-stage name match - the only litigation document located naming this hull: the plaintiffs' supplemental-information filing in MDL-875 states that plaintiff Lewis A. Seymour was exposed to asbestos during work in the Navy and as an electronic mechanic and boiler operator in the merchant marine (1961-1989) and lists 'the SS Seatrain New Jersey' among the merchant ships he 'had occasion to work aboard'. No second Seatrain Lines vessel named Seatrain New Jersey was identified in the operator's post-1966 fleet (multi-purpose/container series: Puerto Rico, Carolina, Florida, Maryland, Maine, Washington, Ohio, San Juan, Delaware; Euroliner class), so the name points to this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- alleged merchant service 1969-1989; this hull in Seatrain merchant service through 1973
- Population
- Merchant marine boiler operator/electronic mechanic (single plaintiff's alleged service)
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation in a supplemental-information filing - a plaintiff's claim, not a trial finding, judgment, or established fact; no liability or ACM finding attaches to this hull, and Seymour's own claims targeted equipment makers (Saberhagen Holdings et al.), not the ship or its operator. The filing gives no dates aboard 'Seatrain New Jersey' and does not tie any specific exposure event to it; Seymour's merchant window (1969-1989) overlaps this hull only in 1969-1973 (sold for scrap May 1973). Hull identification by name is probable, not stated with specificity in the document.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lakehurst-apm9-09
-
[11]Batch-2520 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS via Wayback; NavSource archive via Wayback; Shipscribe APM-9 record; HyperWar Army Torch volume and spec index; GAO B-32493 listing; MARAD ShipHistory search + NRHP assessment; NARA Special List 44; CourtListener opinion and docket sweeps; open-web banned-source check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lakehurst-apm9-01 through sl-uss-lakehurst-apm9-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull ACM survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum documentation (hull scrapped 1973), bill of material, or adjudicated asbestos finding naming USS Lakehurst, APV-3, APM-9, USAT Lakehurst, or SS Seatrain New Jersey was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only located litigation name match is a pleading-stage allegation (ev-09), and operator-level asbestos litigation against Seatrain Lines (ev-12) does not name this hull - neither establishes asbestos aboard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1940-built steam merchant-type hull is era-consistent with installed asbestos-containing materials. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lakehurst-apm9-10
-
[12]NARA record-group mapping for this hull: RG 24 entry 118 (Navy deck logs, 1941+) for the Oct 1942-Aug 1943 commission period; RG 19-LCM Bureau of Ships photos already digitized (19-N-35527/-35529/-35530 per NavSource captions); RG 248 (War Shipping Administration) vessel files; Army Transportation Corps vessel records for the USAT period (1943-46); Atlantic Basin Iron Works conversion records (Oct 1942) if surviving [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA logbooks guidance page; RG 24 Entry 118; RG 19-LCM photo identifiers per NavSource captions; SL-44 inventories (no listing located)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no research-room visit or reproduction order): Lakehurst's Navy deck logs for the October 1942-August 1943 commission period would be in RG 24 Entry 118 at NARA College Park (Special List 44 named-vessel and ship-number inventories searched - no Lakehurst/APV-3/APM-9 listing located in the printed inventory; catalog search is the continuing lead); WSA vessel acquisition/operation files in RG 248; Army TC records for the USAT Lakehurst period; BuShips RG-19-LCM photo series already confirms official coverage of this hull.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940-1973 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lakehurst-apm9-11
-
[13]Hirsch v. London Steamship Owners' Mutual Life Insurance Ass'n (In re Seatrain Lines, Inc.), 198 B.R. 45 (S.D.N.Y. 1996) (Sotomayor, J.) - plus CourtListener docket/opinion sweep results for Seatrain Lines [court_record]
- Locator
- 198 B.R. 45 (S.D.N.Y. 1996); CL opinion sweeps 'Seatrain asbestos' (33 hits) and 'Seatrain Lines asbestos' (25 hits); CL docket sweep 'Seatrain asbestos' (3,801 hits - first-page sample all 'v. SEATRAIN LINES, INC.' 368-asbestos dockets and Seatrain bankruptcy matters)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Operator-level asbestos litigation documented for this hull's merchant owner/operator: in Seatrain Lines' bankruptcy, the trustee's adversary proceeding sought insurance coverage and defense for asbestos-related personal-injury claims filed against Seatrain in various courts; the district court reports the adversary complaint's allegation that 'many of Seatrain's ships contained asbestos' and that 'thousands of Seatrain's sailors and shipbuilders were exposed to the hazardous substance' (In re Seatrain Lines, 198 B.R. 45 at 48, citing Adversary Proceeding Cplt. para. 10). CourtListener's docket index additionally holds thousands of asbestos personal-injury dockets naming Seatrain Lines, Inc. as defendant (e.g., Rubin, Chaker, Herrera, Wong, Wilson, Watson v. Seatrain Lines, Inc., E.D. Pa. 2010, suit nature '368 Asbestos personal injury - Prod. Liab.'), consistent with MDL-875 defendant naming.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- claims spanning Seatrain operations; coverage opinion 1996; dockets through 2011
- Population
- Seatrain Lines sailors and shipbuilders (operator-level allegation)
- Limitations
- Operator/fleet-level material only. The Hirsch opinion decides an insurance-coverage/withdrawal-of-reference motion in bankruptcy; its asbestos language relays the complaint's allegation, not an adjudicated finding, and it does not name this hull or any specific vessel. The mass docket hits name Seatrain Lines as a defendant at pleading stage; none reviewed names Seatrain New Jersey/USS Lakehurst. Does not establish asbestos aboard, exposure aboard, or claims involving this specific hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lakehurst-apm9-12